DAY 1

When we last checked in on Celia and Remy, they were exchanging hugs and Afrin in a small hostel in Madrid. Celia majorly jet lagged, Remy a little sniffly, but resilient. The first order of business was to get something yummy in their hungry American bellies while heading towards their next destination at the Hostel Alvaro. Together, they rolled their suitcases, backpacks on backs, and started a steady uphill climb to the next hostel in the dry 95 degree Farenheight Madrid heat, stopping only for some freshly squeezed juice and a “panepinno toasta” at a spot on the way.

I wish I could tell you Celia lasted longer, that she defeated jet lag with the strength of someone that had just recently left college so all nighters were no-biggie. But sadly, Celia was three years out, and her frail eyelids could not hold themselves up. After arriving at the private double bunk-bed room, Celia resolved to napping for two hours—NO MORE THAN TWO HOURS. And Remy, well adjusted to the time zone at this point, pledged to wake her my 3 at the latest after she herself had showered and looked into planning the day.

I returned from a 16 day trip to and around Spain about a month ago, and have finally decided I can procrastinate no further! I told myself I would blog about the trip while I was on it, and while I did update my Instagram accordingly, I did no such thing. Like on every trip I take, my grandmother warned me that if I did not write down what I’d done, I would forget the special memories I’d made, so: now is the time. So, briefly, for my own benefit than for those of you that may be reading this (apologies, there will be travel-related tips coming your way soon in future posts.) Here is (the beginning of) a lengthy overview of my 16 day excursion!

My friend Remy and I hanging in Madrid our first day together!

Planning the Trip

As a preface, I traveled with a close friend from high school, Remy, who was luck enough to find out in Fall 2016 that she would find herself in Spain in Summer 2017 thanks to some amazing nannying duties. (Remy is a teacher during the school year!) Come Thanksgiving time, she asked if any of our group of friends might have interest or availability to travel with her. Now, most of our group worked full-time and a lengthy trip to Europe was not in the realm of possibilities. I, however, was a contracted/freelance worker, which granted me more flexibility on when I could be where. I told her I’d keep my eyes open for cheap flights and would get back to her.

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One of my favorite benefits of working at an arts & crafts company is that I never know when a major craft session will break out. A few weeks ago, through the initiative of one of my communications department coworkers, a small group of us began participating in a lunch break “Twisted Crafts” series.

This past Friday, we crafted what I’ve always dreamed I might own–authentic Harry Potter Wands! I could NOT be more excited about how mine turned out. I am, to say the least, utterly obsessed, and very excited to use my wands to celebrate #20YearsofMagic.

What is #20YearsofMagic, you ask? Well, on June 26 2017, it will be the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Crazy, right? Well, don’t worry–this Harry Potter Wand craft is inexpensive, and quick, so you have plenty of time to craft one before the big day!

P.S. Don’t have the time to create your own wand? Thanks to some serious demand, I’ve started a DIY Custom Wand Making side hustle. Message me on my FACEBOOK PAGE for more information!

If anyone has been keeping track, my Generation Try Girl income history has been brief and varied, but from what I’ve learned this month “what you put in is what you get out.” In my first three weeks of this blog, I’d made over $50. This was a result of hard work, or I should say harder work than I’ve been putting in lately. At the end of March, I’d written a total of 11 well constructed/thoughtful posts ,many geared towards making income. Now, at the end of May, I’ve published a total of just six posts. And two of them were monthly reports. So I’m not shocked by my earnings of around $16 this month. But hey! That $16 is still better than the comparable 30 cents of last month. (Which I didn’t even bother to write about!) And I think that is because this month, I did in fact put in that extra little bit of effort that my “April” was lacking.

If I’ve learned anything in the many 25 years of life, its that I’m most successful when I am consistent and apply effort to the task at hand. The other key factor of success, of course, is goal setting and tracking my progress. So, without further ado, my income report for May 2017, and my goals going into June!